Hero
by HeeroYuyZ
Summary: When the world needs a hero, they turn to Harry Potter, the one man who can hold back the tides of darkness that threaten to consume the wizarding world. HHr, RL
1. Prologue

**Hero**  
  
What makes a man a hero? Is it defending people against something that would do them harm? Is it their courage under fire, their ability to show bravery in the face of death? Or is it something... words can't describe? An indescribable trait that sets them apart from everyone else?  
  
- An Excerpt from the Diary of Hermione Granger  
  
Prologue  
  
The Hogwarts Express pulled to a stop, letting its lone passenger disembark before it returned to the station to await the next year. The man stood, staring at Hogwarts, not moving a muscle. Hogwarts held so many memories for him, and so many more still in the making. The loud whistle of the departing train broke him out of his reverie and he put a cigarette to his mouth, taking a long drag on it. He quietly exhaled the smoke and then threw the cigarette aside, stamping on it before moving towards the castle.  
  
It had been over a year since he had last seen it, torn away by the Ministry of Magic for "his own good". Torn away from his soulmate, his friends, and his life. Torn away to prepare him for "training" against He- Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. In that year away he had aged more than his years, inside and out. He had been forced to do things no sane person should ever have to do.  
  
The walk to the castle seemed shorter now that he was older, now that he was strengthened from the vigorous exercise programs forced upon him. As he neared the front entrance he noticed guards, alert and with wands drawn. Smirking he walked forth and suddenly stopped. An invisible barrier of some sort blocked his way. As he prepared to take it down, his senses went haywire as an invisible magical alarm sounded, alerting someone to his appearance at the castle. In less than a second he was surrounded by no less than ten armed wizards. Shaking his head in amusement he raised his hand and they were all lifted up into the air, their arms pushed against their sides.  
  
"No one shall stop me until I see who I came here for," he said.  
  
With a wave of his hand they were released and they collapsed to the ground. Nearing the entrance doors he waved his hand again and the opened. He dimly noticed the bewildered look on the guards' face and smiled. Looking at the castle closer up he lifted his head.  
  
"I'm back..." he whispered.  
  
On the other side of the castle in the seventh year girls dormitory of Gryffindor tower, a girl awoke, as if sensing his words. Her heart skipped a beat and she quickly threw on some clothes before running to meet him.  
  
------------------  
  
Inside the headmasters office, past all the silver instruments and magical paintings sat an old man. An old man of immense power. As he sat there, reading a book, he felt a tug in the back of his mind. One of the magical alarms had been tripped. He focused his mind on the wards and saw a somewhat scruffy young man sending all of his guards flying. He smiled. Then laughed. The man whom he considered a son, the man whom he would die for, had come back.  
  
------------------  
  
Far away on the other side of Britain another person noticed the man's arrival. Outside of the Ministry's wards, including those upon the Hogwarts Express, the man was easy to spot. That much magical power in one place, it was a brilliant light in a group of dim ones. The lipless mouth of the man's face split into a grin. His red eyes narrowed in glee. The game was afoot.  
  
Harry Potter had returned.  
  
A/N: I hope this story will be my best work in the world of fanfiction and perhaps a triumphant return from the curse of writer's block. The first chapter of the story is well on its way and hopefully by chapter two or three, I will have the average length per chapter up to 7500 words or more. I do not currently have a beta so anyone who would be willing to help can e-mail me at HeeroFanfictionhotmail.com. If you are actually serious about beta-ing let me know, because the last beta I had couldn't help me at the last second and I had to post the story without having it beta-read. This was after she had been given the draft a month before and never gave any indication she was even working on it. I will be honest because I always like to have clearly defined ships most of the time. This will be H/Hr and probably Ron/Luna. I'm not sure as of yet but it might have D/G or Neville/Ginny later on, but I hope to focus mainly on Hermione and Harry's relationship this time. This is the first time I've actually written a story with a heavy use of the main relationship in it so constructive criticism will be welcome. Please review!


	2. The Love of a Woman

**Hero**

_Why do some people become heroes? Do they strive to become one, always looking for a situation where they can prove themselves? Do they do it because they want to, for the fame? Or are they thrown into the position by chance, an accident of fate that forces them to live up to title of hero?_

- An Excerpt from the Diary of Hermione Granger

* * *

Chapter 1 – The Love of a Woman

Harry smiled as he caught sight of her. She was even more beautiful than the last time he saw her. She ran straight into him, tackling him to the ground in a fierce hug.

"Oof!" he exclaimed. "I'm so glad to see you too Hermione."

"Not half as glad as I am to see you," she said.

She leaned down and kissed him, their lips locking in a passionate embrace. He pulled her close to him, holding her tightly. Finally, they broke the kiss in need of air and he she nuzzled her head against his chest.

"I've missed you so much. Don't you ever leave me again Harry James Potter!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Never, I'll never do it again 'Mione, I promise," he whispered, lightly kissing the forehead.

There was a scuffling of feet behind him and he held Hermione close to him as he got up. It seemed the guards had followed him in.

"Don't you know who this is?" Hermione inquired of them. "This is Harry Potter! You all know who I am and know that I would be able to recognize him if it was him or not, so back off!"

The guards look surprised for a minute and then one of them, presumably the captain of the guards stepped forward.

"We apologize sir, we were just doing our job," he said.

"No harm, no foul. I'm back, and I'm staying," Harry said.

Harry pulled Hermione close to him again, reveling in her presence. He loved her unique smell, the smell of cinnamon and strawberries.

"I'd make love to you right now if I knew we wouldn't have a crowd," whispered Hermione. "I love you so much Harry..."

"I love you too 'Mione, I love you too,"

"Hem, hem," a voice said behind them.

Memories of Umbridge pulling him away from Hogwarts flooded Harry and he had his wand out in a second, sending the Expelliarmus curse in the direction of the voice. As he saw the figure there lunge to the side he gasped and put his wand away. The curse hit the far wall creating a large scorch mark.

"I apologize Headmaster; I didn't realize it was you,"

"No problem Harry, I should have known better than to do that. I can't resist a good joke every now and then though," the headmaster admitted. "It's good to see you my boy, it's good to see you. I see you have already reacquainted yourself with Mrs. Granger?"

"Yes sir. If you don't mind I would like to take the next day or two to spend some time with her before I meet with the order,"

"Perfectly fine Harry, Voldemort has been quiet lately so I don't believe we need to discuss anything though the order and I are very interested in what exactly happened with the Ministry,"

"Thank you Professor. We'll talk in a couple of days then," Harry said.

With that, Harry grabbed Hermione by the waist, threw her over his shoulder and started walking towards the Hogwarts guest room.

"Harry you put me down this instant!" Hermione exclaimed, playfully beating his back with her fists.

"Hmm...Let me think about it," Harry said. "No."

As they reached the room Harry set her down on the bed and stood over her.

"Now that you've got me here, what do you plan to do with me?" inquired Hermione, a grin worthy of a Cheshire cat adorning her face.

Harry smiled evilly before tackling her and tickling her mercilessly.

"No don't do that! Ack! Stop that!" yelled a giggling Hermione.

Harry smiled and kissed her on her forehead.

"I love you," he whispered.

He moved down and kissed her on her lips, repeating himself. Then he moved down, kissing right below her neck. Her shirt prevented any further progress but with a wave of his hand it split right down the middle. He unclasped her bra and threw it aside and then he placed a kiss on each of her breasts. He continued a line of kisses down to her navel.

"I love you so much 'Mione. I'm sorry I was gone for so long,"

(Edited for Content: See Bottom)

* * *

The next morning, far away from Hogwarts and past prying eyes laid another castle. However it did not have the feeling of warmth that Hogwarts exuded. If this castle gave off any sense at all, it was of evil. There was a series of pops as a group of ten to fifteen cloaked men appeared next to a throne. 

"What news do you have for me? I grow impatient of the lack of new recruits and your constant failures at gathering information," Voldemort growled. "Have you confirmed that it's Potter?"

"Yes sir," one of the men said, stepping forward. "I managed to catch a glimpse of him before he and that mudblood wench of his hurried off to the guest room."

"Very good Snape. You are once again proving yourself to be a loyal member to the cause. Now, did he look any different than the last time you saw him?"

"Yes my lord," Snape said. "He was definitely taller and more muscular than the last time I saw him. Obviously some aurors must have physically trained him. He nearly sent Dumbledore flying across the room when the old man played a prank on him. His reflexes are amazing my lord and he also seems to be much more magically powerful too."

Voldemort frowned for a second, an eerie sight on his lipless mouth. All of the Deatheaters held their breath because if Voldemort was angry, everyone paid for it.

"Get me more information on the relationship between Potter and his little whore. I want to know everything there is to know about that girl, her grades, her weight, her parents, EVERYTHING!" ordered Voldemort.

When none of the Deatheaters moved he yelled, "NOW!"

The Deatheaters scrambled away, disappearing in a flurry of pops.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, idly playing with one of the many silver instruments. Across from him, sitting in awkward silence was the one person he felt he could truly trust in this school besides Harry, Minerva.

"Albus, are you sure it is wise to let them have so much time to themselves? You know as well as I do that You-Know-Who is planning something big and Harry should know about it," Minerva said. "I can't help but feel something is going to go terribly wrong soon."

"Let them be Minnie," Albus said, delighting in the blush on her face at the sound of her nickname. "They're young and in love, surely you remember what it was like?"

"I do indeed Albus, and that's what worries me."

Albus gave a deep laugh and the twinkle that had been missing in his eyes for the past year had begun to return.

"No Minerva, the only thing that truly worries me is what Voldemort will do to Hermione," murmured Albus. "That monster will do anything to make Harry suffer and Hermione is the perfect target. We will have to increase security around her."

"You know she will fight that Albus, just as Harry fought it."

"Yes, but he didn't win it now did he?"

Minerva scowled but grinned lightly.

"Harry will be against it too Albus, I beg you not to be at ends with him right after he returns."

"I'll do my best Minnie, but that boy is headstrong and won't listen to me anymore. I have lost his trust."

"I seriously doubt that Albus, but if that is the case, God help us all."

* * *

Harry awoke to the bright sunlight streaming across his face. He turned to the side to see Hermione still sleeping. Not surprising considering what he and the little brown haired vixen had done last night.

He could still smell the combined scent of their love permeating the air around them. He stared at her like he sometimes did, able to just watch her beautiful sleeping form for hours. Sensing his gaze Hermione awoke, smiling as she caught sight of him.

"Mornin'," whispered Harry. "A good one too."

"What are you so cheery about?" asked Hermione, pulling away the covers.

"'Bout waking up next to a beautiful woman who loves me?" said Harry in a questioning way as he admired her naked form.

"Right answer," Hermione replied, kissing him firmly on the lips. "It's nice to have a trained man."

Harry laughed, picking Hermione up and holding her by her ankles, dangling above the floor.

"Harry, you put me down this instant or so help me I'll..." Hermione began?

"You'll what 'Mione?" asked a laughing Harry.

"Do this!"

Harry gasped as she pulled his ankles out from under him, sending them both tumbling backwards onto the bed, with her lying on top of him.

"Couldn't wait to get back to your favorite position, eh 'Mione?"

"Harry!" she exclaimed, hitting him on the chest as she brought her face to his. "I wish we could stay like this all day..."

"I've got a whole day planned for us though 'Mione, but unfortunately, you have to be dressed for it," Harry said giving another admiring look at her body. "Very unfortunate."

"Anymore festivities will have to wait until tonight then, I have to go get ready."

Harry smiled and walked off to the other bathroom in the room as she went to the main one. Today was going to be fun.

* * *

In the seventh year male dormitory of the Slytherin dungeons, Draco Malfoy sat, pondering the news he had just received. It seemed that Potter was back, and Draco wondered what his orders would be. Voldemort would most likely have Draco doing something, probably something he didn't want to do. Maybe he should inform Potter that he was a spy for the order? No, he doubted Potter would believe him, and Voldemort had ears everywhere except the Headmaster's office in Hogwarts. He would most likely be overheard and be dead before the next gathering.

The master had been quite angry at him when Harry had disappeared under his watch last year. Of course, it wasn't his bloody fault that the Ministry used such advanced wards that even the scar connection couldn't find Harry. So it was blamed on Draco, the punishment being several minutes of the cruciatus curse.

Draco still hated Harry, even though he had gone over to the forces of the light. Harry Potter was still bloody Harry Potter, famous, annoying, and a bastard in his eyes. Still, Harry was probably the only true weapon they could take Voldemort down with. According the prophecy that Voldemort had managed to acquire within the last year, neither Harry nor Voldemort could die unless killed by the other. In fact it was even tested when Voldemort had a Deatheater send the killing curse at him. Voldemort admitted that the curse hurt horribly, but it didn't kill him.

With that revelation, all plans of killing Voldemort when he was weakened after performing his many experiments died. Once again Harry Potter had stolen away the glory that could have been his. Draco touched his wand with visible irritability. After Voldemort was dead and gone, he and Harry had a duel to fight, the final one where the only one leaving was the one still alive. But until then, it was his job to make sure Harry even made it that far.

He was pulled from his thoughts abruptly as the mark on his back began to burn violently and turned black. Well, he had expected he'd be called soon. With a sigh of acceptance, Draco pulled the meeting Portkey from his robes.

"_Illuminari_," he said, activating it.

Before he disappeared, any onlookers might have noticed the tiny flash of fear that crossed his face for a millisecond before it was gone, covered up again by the mask of indifference. A moot point however, for no one was around to see it.

* * *

In a dark alley somewhere in London, two figures appeared suddenly with a POP! Both of them looked closely at their surroundings, making sure no one had seen them. Of course no one would have in the specially warded alley, but sometimes these charms weren't always the most reliable. The two walked out, joining a group of passing shoppers.

"So where do you want to go first Herm?" asked Harry. "My treat."

"I don't know Harry; it's been years since I've been to muggle London. I swear though," Hermione replied. "I am not taking the blame for this, you can tell Dumbledore this was your idea!"

Harry laughed loudly, calling the attention of some people passing by and bringing a blush of embarrassment to Hermione's face.

"Some things never change Hermione," a chuckling Harry announced. "I could have sworn I had broken you out of that habit of following the rules."

"No you haven't Mr. Potter. You have managed to bring me to the dark side and got me to break a few rules but you'll never break me of that habit."

"Good to know, it's always nice to have a constant in life. In a world of change, something that stays the same can be good."

Hermione smiled at Harry and he couldn't resist smiling back. Whenever she smiled like that, such a feeling filled his hard that it was impossible to not let his joy show with exploding.

'It's ironic actually,' Harry thought to himself. 'That women could hold so much power over men, yet men were considered the superior gender for such a long time. Wow were they wrong.'

The two continued to walk around the streets of London and finally decided on a place to eat. It was a simple restaurant, nothing too fancy, because he was saving the fancy restaurant for tonight. A waiter appeared by them after a couple minutes of waiting and gave them menus. The two decided for another couple of minutes before calling the waiter back over.

"Are you ready to order?" inquired the waiter.

"Yes," Harry replied, deciding to indulge himself. "I'll have the double bacon cheeseburger supreme and some curly fries."

"To drink sir?"

"Water will do just fine."

The waiter turned to Hermione and said, "And the young lady?"

"I'll have the same, but make it waffle fries instead of curly fries please," Hermione replied. "To drink I'd like to have some iced tea."

The waiter nodded and after he finished jotting it down he left the two alone.

"I didn't know you liked cheeseburgers Harry," Hermione said. "I always try to have one while I'm in the muggle world, a guilty pleasure I confess."

"Oh, I love them, I was addicted to them where they had me training and went to this little muggle eatery during my free time," Harry replied. "It was kind of amusing actually, whenever I got near the store, if an employee saw me, by the time I got in it would already be made. Of course if I wanted something different I was pretty much out of luck."

Hermione laughed pleasantly and Harry let himself be caught up in the sound. It was such a beautiful sound, he noticed. There were many things he loved about Hermione that he was just realizing now. The goofy little grin she got when she was hiding something, the arched eyebrow when she found something amusing. It was all the little things.

"So Hermione, how's life been while I've been gone?" Harry asked as the waiter arrived with their food.

"Boring actually. Nothing really interesting happens when you aren't there. Gryffindor still managed to win the Quidditch Cup, but just barely," Hermione said. "A large number of Slytherins left Hogwarts and only about half the entire house remains. Most of those left are under sixth year."

"What about Ron?" Harry inquired, taking a large bite out of his cheeseburger. "I didn't see him yesterday and I expected him to be one of the first to be there."

"Well, when you left, Ron took it kind of hard. He was so angry at your for abandoning him. He threw himself into his studies and school, trying to forget about you. He also became quite popular as he was named the Quidditch Captain too. There isn't a day that goes by now that I don't see him with some girl hanging off of him, he gets a new one pretty much every three weeks or so," Hermione replied. "Also, when you disappeared, everyone looked to him to be your replacement. He tried to live up to your image and made himself popular but it took a toll on him. I don't think he got even two hours of sleep a night for about five months after you left. He wound up in the hospital wing with exhaustion rather often. Along with that, he's been...different...ever since he was attacked by the brains at the Ministry. He's been more aggressive and has a lot shorter temper than he used to have."

Harry sighed, angry at himself and the Ministry. He knew that they had the good of the wizarding world in mind, but when they kidnapped him they had the good of only themselves planned out. He had been an iconic figure to the wizarding world for surviving against Voldemort for so long and when he disappeared it sent them into panic. The Ministry had in some ways made things worse by kidnapping him. Following his disappearance there was a rapid rush of buying as people stocked up for the upcoming war. People were spending more than they were earning and it sent the wizarding economy into turmoil that had not been seen since World War II and Grindelwald.

It was true that if the Ministry had not taken him he most likely would have died during his sixth year, however, the repercussions of that event would still be felt in another ten to twenty years.

It was then Harry noticed that Hermione was very quiet, staring at him in worry. He realized he had been sitting their thinking for a couple of minutes. Putting on a rather fake smile he took a bite of his burger which was already starting to grow cold.

"Harry, it's not your fault," Hermione said. "You were thrown into the life of the Boy-Who-Lived, you didn't choose to become him. What you chose to do was to make the most of this life and do your best to live up to the name. You don't have to Harry, at any time you wanted you could stop being the Boy-Who-Lived and disappear."

Harry shook his head, "No, I can't. Because if I did, then where would the wizarding world be? They need someone to fight because they won't."

"Who says it has to be you though Harry? Why not have Dumbledore fight him off, why you?"

Harry closed his eyes and sighed. This was a topic he hadn't wanted to touch. This day was supposed to be a nice retreat from all of that and for the two of them to have a normal date, like a normal couple. Impossible as it was, seeing as they weren't a normal couple, Harry truly wished they were.

"Because," Harry replied. "Because of the prophecy. As much as I hate to admit it and as much as I would like to say I can chose my own path, that God gave me the free will to do what I want, it's a lie. I don't have the free will to do what I want because my life has been guided by chance and prophecy since day one. If there is a God somewhere out there Hermione, chances are he's manipulating me to be his weapon against Satan just like everyone here on Earth manipulated me to fight Voldemort."

"How can you let your life be dictated by something that was destroyed two years ago, something that you've never even heard?" demanded Hermione.

"Because I did hear it. It was Professor Trelawney's first true prediction, and Dumbledore heard it," Harry said.

He looked around and then quickly cast some silencing charms around them.

"Hermione, I have to ask you before I tell you this," he said. "Are you ready? Voldemort learned of the prophecy last year through the torture of Professor Trelawney, however he too wishes to keep it a secret from all but his Deatheaters. The few people who do know it have faith that I can actually beat him, and the more hope the wizarding world has, the harder they will fight back. Knowledge is power, and this knowledge will put you directly in the line of fire."

"Harry," she said. "I already am in the line of fire. Now tell me it."

Closing his eyes, Harry repeated the verse that had haunted him for hours on end in his dreams, "_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches....Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives....The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..._"

Harry watched quietly as Hermione went over it in her head. No doubt the same parts that intrigued him when he learned of it now intrigued her.

"Does that mean, that neither of you can die unless killed by the other?" asked Hermione quietly.

"Yes, spies in the Deatheater ranks informed us of an experiment Voldemort did after he learned of the prophecy. He knew that he could easily be brought back once again so he had a Deatheater perform the killing curse on him. He survived, and not just soul this time, body too. He proved that only I can kill him, and hopefully only he can kill me," Harry said. "This brings up another interesting question. What would happen if I were to go through the Veil? Seeing as I can't die, wouldn't I be able to bring Sirius back? After Voldemort is dead and gone I promised myself I would try and bring Sirius back no matter what it took."

The two sat in silence for a while and finished their meal before they left to wander the streets of London again.

It was after several hours of window shopping and goofing around that they found themselves at a movie theater watching some random American movie that sounded good. After that it was going on six o'clock and the reservations Harry had set at La Riviere Rouge, the new fine restaurant in London, were at seven. That meant they had an hour to pick up the specially tailored outfits Harry had bought and get ready before they had to be there.

"We have to go down here, 'Mione," Harry said. "We have to pick something up."

Hermione nodded, confused about what they had to pick up, because she didn't remember ordering anything that day. The two hurried along and finally stopped in front of a small store, Recken's Jewelry and Tailor shop. Harry had learned of it from an auror who had been training him. It was rather pathetic looking on the outside, but the dresses and jewelry they had inside were spectacular. It wasn't as well known as some of the other more famous jewelry stores but the auror assured him that it had even better products.

Just as the two entered a man was coming out of the backroom with an exquisite deep blue dress.

"Ah! Mr. Potter," exclaimed the man, looking at the two of them. "I take it this is the young lady the dress is for? Yes, yes, it shall fit her perfectly, one of my finest works, I must say. I also have the necklace and your suit ready."

"Wonderful, could you please show Hermione to the dressing room? I would like to get ready too," Harry said.

Hermione let herself be led along, still in awe of the magnificent dress in front of her. It was a deep metallic blue color with some black on the trim. They dress had a neckline just barely over the top of her breasts and the dress went down to about right above her knees. As her subconscious went over the previous conversation it picked out the talk of the necklace and she wondered exactly what it looked like. As her mind went over various possibilities she realized that they had arrived at the dressing room and Mr. Recken was looking at her expectantly. Blushing lightly, she took the dress and went to get ready.

About ten minutes later the two of them were completely dressed up at the front counter.

"Now for the final addition to an already lovely woman," Harry said pulling out a box from his suit pocket. "A necklace for the dear lady."

Hermione took the box from him and carefully opened it. When she lifted the lid she nearly dropped it in astonishment. Inside laid one of the most exquisite necklaces she had ever seen. It had a choker chain and the front piece had an inlay of 20 diamonds, 10 emeralds, and 6 sapphires all in a beautiful arrangement.

"Harry...you didn't," Hermione began.

Harry put his finger to her lips, quieting her. "I did it because I wanted to, because I love you Hermione. You're the most important thing in the world to me 'Mione, nothing else matters."

Hermione felt tears begin to well up in her eyes as she began to understand the full scope of his love for her. Now she understood why he had come back. It wasn't to save the world and everybody in it. It was to save her, and if in doing so it saved the rest of the world, good for them.

"Shall we go? We'll miss our reservation if we don't hurry," Harry said.

The limo that Harry had asked for also sat outside and a chauffeur stood near, holding a door open for the two of them. As the two got in, Harry smiled inwardly to himself. If she thought that necklace was beautiful, she would have to see what else he had gotten her.

The limo ride was another quick ten minutes and they arrived at the restaurant with around five minutes to spare. As they entered the restaurant they were greeted with the wonderful aroma of various foods. Hermione was silent as the two were seated at a private table in the back. She couldn't believe that Harry had actually gotten them reservations at La Riviere Rouge; they had to practically be put a year in advance. A year...right before he had disappeared! So Harry had planned this before he had left. How horrible it must have been to be taken away by the Ministry and forced to train, not told when he was going to be able to come back.

They didn't have to wait long before a waiter appeared with menus.

"Once you are done deciding just hit that little button on the side of the table and a waiter will be right over to you," the waiter said as he departed.

Hermione looked over the menu, completely confused on what to buy. Every item on the menu cost over £100 pounds and some reached to the prices of over £300 pounds.

Harry looked somewhat amused at her confusion and offered, "Hermione, just take a dish that looks appetizing and if it doesn't suit you just buy a different one okay? There is no need to be worried about anything 'Mione, I'm going to make sure this night goes flawlessly."

Harry himself decided on the Coq au Vin while Hermione decided to play it safe and ordered a salad. She didn't know exactly what she ordered because the entire menu was in French and hers was a little rusty. Harry pressed the button and a minute later a waiter made his way over to their table.

"Have you decided what you would like tonight?" inquired the waiter.

"Yes," replied Harry. "I'll have the Coq au Vin."

"Ah, very good sir," replied the waiter. "And to drink?"

"Your finest red wine please," answered Harry.

The waiter nodded as he wrote Harry's order down and then turned to Hermione, "For the mademoiselle?"

"I'll have the Salade de la Mer," Hermione answered hesitantly.

The waiter copied that down and was about to turn to go then stopped, "Oh silly me, I nearly forgot about dessert! What would the two of you like?"

Hermione looked at Harry, letting him decide. She had taken a short trimester of French in third grade but she remembered none of it.

"We'll have the Mousse au Chocolat," said Harry after taking a quick glance over the menu.

The waiter nodded and replied, "Your drink will be over in a minute while the food is being prepared."

As the waiter left Hermione sighed and looked at Harry, "Exactly what did we order?"

"I ordered the chicken in wine sauce and you ordered the salad of the sea, a salad containing shrimp mainly and some salted kelp delicacies," Harry answered.

"Well, I suppose it's better than snails," Hermione said shrugging.

"So, what did you do while I was gone?" inquired Harry, striking up a conversation while the food was being made.

"Nothing spectacular," replied Hermione. "I did a lot of studying and focused a lot on different activities. I put a lot of energy into S.P.E.W. and have actually managed to get some adult wizards into the idea. Most of those who actually joined are muggleborn wizards and witches, most people who grew up in the wizarding society see house elf enslavement was the norm."

"Yes, that does seem logical. However Hermione, you have to take into account that most house elves like to work. They see freedom as a horrible punishment. Their race evolved by a survival of the tamest mentality. Those who wanted freedom were usually killed by their masters and over time the house elves left were only those with the current mentality deeply ingrained in them," Harry said. "Dobby is a special case. I'm sure that there are many other elves just like him, ones who were abused by their masters and wished for freedom; but those not treated too harshly and those at Hogwarts simply don't want to be free. They've evolved to the point where they actually enjoy doing work for people."

Hermione blinked in surprise. First of all she had never thought Harry actually had any serious thoughts on S.P.E.W. and second, she had never actually taken what he had just said into perspective. It was true that Dobby was really the only house elf in Hogwarts who enjoyed freedom and liked the thought of being free. He was the odd man out and his enjoyment of it was really the whole inspiring factor behind S.P.E.W. She realized it was indeed foolish of her to base her entire belief of a race solely on one person. While she wouldn't stop S.P.E.W. she would definitely have to rethink its goals. Maybe instead of trying for freedom they could make sure that house elves got better treatment and S.P.E.W. could perhaps stop abuse.

"So Harry," Hermione said changing the subject. "What exactly did they teach you?"

There was a pause as the wine was brought to the table and as Harry served it.

"Well," Harry began. "Lots of things. For one thing, we aren't going to be able to stop Voldemort from expanding outside of Britain. From intelligence reports received by the International Bureau of Wizarding Defense it seems he already has a firm grip on other countries. France, Germany, Spain, and Italy all are major areas of dark activity as of late as well as many African and Southern American countries. From what we gather he's continuing his original plan for global domination that he started 17 years ago.

"The plan is rather ingenious in fact. He starts with remote locations and by the time we're able to attempt to stop him, he already has it in his grasp. With this plan he will spread like a disease, slowly consuming each part of the world until he controls it all. He is saving the Americas and eastern Asia for last due to America's governmental power and the huge number of people in eastern Asia. He is also hoping to weaken America by exploiting the huge amount of drug use there. Once in control of Columbia, he will also control a large portion of the world's drug supply. If he alters those drugs with magic he can make innumerable things happen, from something so addictive that people need more every day, to it being able to travel in air and make other people addicted. Such an act would unbalance much of American economical and social balances and throw the country into chaos."

Harry paused and sighed, "Let's get off this topic of discussion. I wanted this night to be nice and pleasant. Tell me, how are the Weasley twins doing?"

Hermione smiled and the two continued to discuss various topics as the night progressed. They subtly stayed away from subjects pertaining to Voldemort but there was always the underlying tone of him in the background of all their talk.

* * *

Unbeknownst to them was the fact that Voldemort knew perfectly well where they were and could have attacked at any moment. Call it arrogance that he thought Potter wasn't a threat or sadism, Voldemort preferred that the twos bonds of love were reinforced, so it hurt them that much more when he had the little wench for himself.

No, death was too sweet for Potter. For the troubles that little brat had caused him, Voldemort would make that little whelp suffer. All of Potter's little friends would die and Potter would be unable to do a thing about it. Then of course, he would have Potter for himself, and then the real fun would begin. He would teach Potter the meaning of the word pain. He would pay back the pain that Potter had inflicted upon him 17 years ago fifty-fold.

Spending thirty years dabbling in the Dark Arts gave him a large amount of torture curses that he had just been dying to try out.

* * *

The next morning Harry awoke as the first rays of sunlight were peaking into the room. He had only gotten about five hours of sleep but his internal clock made him wake up at six o'clock on the mark every day. He stifled a loud yawn and looked over to Hermione's sleeping form, watching her. It was a morning ritual he had acquired during his summer after fifth year. He had been having horrible nightmares and visions from Voldemort and Hermione was so worried she had slept by his side, taking care of him.

He watched her every morning, in awe of her beauty. How someone so beautiful, and so wonderful, wound up with him, he could never understand. They had stayed at the restaurant a long time and ended leaving around midnight. Of course by then they had finished off the bottle of red wine and were quite tipsy. Harry swore at himself for letting his alcohol tolerance go back down again. During his first months of training alcohol was a major factor after each day to wind down and dull the pain. He used to be able to down a whole bottle of Firewhisky and not get tipsy at all. Near the end though he edged off it and had been down to one shot after particularly bad training sessions. Now, half a bottle of wine left him half-drunk.

Groaning at the mild headache he got out of bed to his cloak and pulled a small bottle out of it. It was a hangover relief potion. Harry drank a quarter of the small bottle and then set it beside the bed on the nightstand with a small quickly jotted note. He quietly got ready and then headed down to the kitchens. Hopefully she wouldn't be out of bed by the time he got back, or it wouldn't be breakfast in bed, now would it?

"Welcome Harry Potter sirs!" squeaked a voice as a green blur shot up to him.

"Hi Dobby!" exclaimed Harry. "How have you been doing?"

"Oh very well Harry Potter sir," replied the house elf. "I have a rather large collection of socks now, would you like to see?"

Harry laughed but had to decline as he needed to get back to Hermione quickly. The house elf was glad to help and in just a few minutes he had a tray full off goodies for her. He passed an awe struck second year who had by the looks of him just woken up and laughed. By the end of the day the whole school would know that he was back. Good thing he had planned on telling them anyway.

He arrived at their room and was just entering as Hermione awoke. She sat up, propping herself against the headstand of the bed. Giving a loud yawn as she stretched she finally noticed Harry standing there with the tray. He set it down in front of her, giving her a kiss.

"Good morning sleepy head," he said playfully. "I hope you like it. I tried to remember your favorite foods but it has been a while."

Hermione looked at the tray that was stocked full of chocolate chip buttered pancakes and French toast and other goodies.

"It's perfect Harry," whispered Hermione, giving him a half hug in fear of knocking the tray over.

"Now you eat," Harry said. "You probably worked up quite an appetite last night. I'm going to go check to make sure my plans for later today are ready."

Hermione blushed at the mention of the previous night and started eating her food as Harry left the room. She wasn't used to the royal treatment and it felt so weird. She took a bite of one of the pancakes and nearly cried out. They were perfect! She would have to ask Harry for this recipe, even Mrs. Weasley's pancakes didn't match up to these.

It was much later in the day as Harry and Hermione walked out to the Quidditch Pitch for their picnic. As they neared it, Harry felt someone watching him and quickly whipped his head around to catch a glimpse of red hair disappear behind a wall on top of the astronomy tower.

'Ron,' Harry thought sadly. 'I'm sorry for what happened. I wish you would at least approach me so we can talk about this instead of hiding and watching me.'

"Harry?" Hermione asked at the thoughtful look. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes Hermione, everything's fine. I was just thinking," he replied cheerfully. "What do you say we set up right here?"

She looked around and nodded and Harry began setting up the picnic spread as she brought out the food.

"So, what have they been teaching you?" inquired Harry as he began making a sandwich.

"Probably nothing close to your training but all the classes have turned towards combat lately," Hermione said thoughtfully. "DADA has begun teaching more powerful spells to us and some of the spells we learned in third year to first years. Charms class has all been on enchanting objects to help you in battle and potions has focused on antidotes, poisons and helpful combat potions. It's really a bit of a mess Harry. Everyone is scared out of their wits. The teachers have all been acting off like something big is going to happen and, oh I just don't know anymore Harry."

Harry took a bite of his sandwich and sighed. "You know you just gave me another bloody reason to kill Voldemort. Every single time we talk it usually ends up with him in it somewhere. A guy could get jealous."

Hermione glared at Harry. "You know darn well that I should hit you for that comment. But I won't, just because I don't want you going around sporting a black eye.

"If you really want to know Hermione, no one knows what's going to happen. He's been quiet lately, almost as if he's waiting for something. His target could be anything from the Ministry to Hogwarts for all we know. Something isn't right though, I can sense it. I don't know how to describe it, it's just like there's the presence of evil in the air. It's been getting steadily stronger for the last month. We have only one clue to what is happening, and it's not pretty. Reports have been coming in from all over the Eastern Hemisphere of migrations of vampires, known werewolves, and other creatures. He's drawing all of the evil this side of the globe to him. Rumors of even darker things have spread about, of balrogs, and demons. If he does summon such beasts to his aid, I fear for us. He's massing his forces, preparing to strike, but we don't know where. It could be anywhere, from Hogwarts to the Ministry. All we do know is it's going to be in Britain. Even with these forces he wishes to have an established base of operation and unfortunately due to Minister Fudge's stupidity and cutting of funds to defense over the years, Britain is an easy target.

"This is going to be unlike anything the wizarding world has seen before. This isn't going to be minor battles or skirmishes of ten to twenty people. It's going to be all out, full scale war. During this war, I doubt we'll be able to hide from Muggle's any longer 'Mione. Now, can we please get off this subject? I'm hungry and today is supposed to be relaxing."

"Sorry Harry," Hermione said ashamedly. "It's just, I'm so worried all the time. I can't help wondering if it's all going to end today, or tomorrow, or any other day for that matter."

"Your life shouldn't be wasted worrying 'Mione," said Harry. "Live every day to its fullest and don't look to what the future may bring."

Hermione looked at Harry and gave him a small smile, "You're right, today is supposed to be fun."

With that, Hermione pulled out her wand and sent him flying into the lake. As Harry sputtered in mock outrage, he pulled himself out of the water.

"Why Hermione Granger, that was a positively horrible thing for you to do," Harry declared glaring at her. His expression softened, "Good job!"

She broke out in a grin and was about to send him for another trip when she felt herself being floated over the lake.

"Don't you dare do it Harry James Potter," she exclaimed looking down at the water below her. "Don't you dare!"

Harry gave her a mischievous smile and released the spell, sending her dropping into the ice cold water of the lake.

As she pulled herself out of the lake she growled at him, "This means war!"

Harry smiled and blew a raspberry at her. As he did that though, she quickly sent a jinx at him that shrunk him down until he as the size of a house elf.

"Now that's just cruel Hermione!" exclaimed Harry the house elf in a high pitched voice.

Harry quickly undid the spell and sent two tickling jinxes at her that had her rolling on the ground.

Stopping herself from laughing for a couple of seconds she used the Jelly-Legs jinx on him, which distracted him enough to break his concentration on the spell. While he undid the jinx she imprisoned him in ropes. He fell backwards and shot a glare at her.

Hermione smiled and sat down, straddling his waist, "Now I've got you right where I want you."

Harry smirked, "Surely you are not suggesting something as lewd as that Miss Granger?"

"Yes indeed Mr. Potter, I am not as innocent as one may think," she replied in a snobbish manner.

Harry slipped a hand into her pants, gently caressing her womanhood and making her groan in pleasure.

Harry's lips twitched and then he grinned, "Not innocent indeed."

Hermione passionately kissed him again, exploring his mouth with her tongue.

She pulled away to take and breath and whispered into his ear, "I'd ravage you right here if I knew we wouldn't attract a crowd."

"Now, now Miss Granger, none of that until tonight. I do hope you can contain yourself until then," Harry declared in a primly manner.

"It's not me I'm worried about having to contain something hun," she said devilishly, groping his crotch. "I'm more worried about some jeans containing you."

Harry grinned at her and gave her a kiss before the two got up. They spent the rest of the day out on the grounds, and neither mentioned Voldemort the entire time. It was a welcome relief from the constant worry, and both wished the day would go on forever so that they wouldn't have to face the problems that the next day would bring. There was no way around it there, tomorrow, the games started back up again, and they were both key players.

* * *

A/N: I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter of Hero! Please read and review! I had originally planned to say more than this in my author's note, but my computer froze up and I lost it all. I really don't feel like typing it all up again so bear with me, you'll get more information in the next chapter.

A/N2: In compliance with the new zero tolerance policy of I am not taking any chances. While this is another horrible oppression to fanfic writers such as myself that has NEEDLESSLY added I do not wish my account to be deleted. I do not in anyway whatsoever agree with 's current stance on many subjects. I am from the original crew and am appalled to see its degeneration into this censorship piece of shit it currently is. With the ban of NC-17 stories and then the increasing amount of story restrictions it amazes me that managed to keep so many authors. It finally came to me that the reason it is still so popular is because of A.) It's format and B.) There's no where else to go. There are no other fanfiction sites out there with the amount of content that has. has in essence, a monopoly over the fanfiction world. If any know of a site that is on the rise and has a format similar to please let me know! For the full version of this story, you can find it at and hopefully some other sites as I broaden my posting scopes. As for the direction this story is taking, I don't really know. In the beginning I had an idea but it's all but gone now. There WILL be action in the following chapters, this chapter was a fluff chapter to show the relationship between Hermione and Harry and set a basis for the upcoming plot. I hope that following chapters will be longer, somewhere around the 10,000 word range, but this is as far as this chapter can take me and I struggled just to get this far with it. I also still as of yet have NO beta! Please email if you would like to be my beta, I REALLY need one. Please however, only those who are serious about Beta-ing reply. Please review and tell me what needs to be changed in this story. All helpful comments are welcome.


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